ROBBINSDALE, Minn. -- A 7th grader at Robbinsdale Middle School was put in a very odd position Thursday morning on the way to school by a bus driver for Metropolitan Transportation Network, according to the school district.

MTN contracts some bus routes with Robbinsdale schools.

In a letter sent to parents Thursday afternoon Robbinsdale Middle School Principal, John Cook, said a 7th grade student was riding on bus to school Thursday morning when the driver on that route noticed something on the side of the road.

The driver stopped the bus and told the student to go see what it was and the student did as was told and found that it was a gun.

Cook said in the letter the driver took the gun and proceeded with the route.

The driver then told bus supervisors when arriving at the school about the incident and said he would be taking the gun to his dispatch office at MTN.

Stop the bus on the side of the road, several hundred yard away from the gun, call the police and waited for the SWAT TEAM to arrive and defuse the deadly situation and remove the dangerous item. This would probably only have taken 8-10 hours and the bus driver would have been a hero instead of (probably)unemployed and possibly in jail.

5
posted on 11/09/2012 5:20:57 AM PST
by Tupelo
(Republican, a national party no more.)

Poor child!! Not only was he placed in jeopardy by being forced to touch such a dangerous thing, but he will likely be traumatized to the point of needing endless therapy with the end result of being a serial killer!!! All the more reason to remove guns from society!! May obama bless the UN, for the coming gun grab will make us all safer.

Of course I am sarcastic. Seriously, this never should have made the news.

There are so many deer on the roads here, I want to have a shotgun rider with me. Maybe my insurance co. will consider such a thing. My friend’s husband was musing about that comment last night as they were warning me to be extra careful on the way home. He, an 80 t/o waid that’s what they used to do with rabbits. Of course it is. How else were we Americans supposed to win wars; with guys who couldn’t handle a gun and shooot straight?

Reminds me of the lifeguard that was fired for saving a drowner outside of his “zone”. These stories make what should be a clear choice, confusing. It is an odd feeling to second-guess human nature based on colateral issues and concerns (if I act responsibly, I will lose my job). Sad.

Oh, good grief! The reason this is being made an issue is political. Robbinsdale Middle School is in District 281, and last spring the City voted to award the bus contract to a private company, instead of using District employees. A lot of District employees lost their jobs.

THIS is what it is all about—maligning the non-District employed bus companies. In their fight to keep their cushy government gigs, the bus drivers consistently argued “who knew” what kind of reprobates would be driving these buses. THEY were the trustworthy people that cared about these kids. What KIND of bus driver would these poor defenseless children be assigned? Oh, the humanity!

I don’t see where the headline matches the story. No where in the story does the bus driver tell the kid to pick it up. The driver did good in stopping but the kid probably picked it up on his own initiative which put the driver into the position of keeping it safe afterward. Sticky situation but the driver should have immediately called the cops and had them meet him at the site or along the route. No telling how many fingerprints are on it now.

13
posted on 11/09/2012 7:03:36 AM PST
by bgill
(We've passed the point of no return. Welcome to Al Amerika.)

Back in my day, students would have their guns in the headache rack in their unlocked and windows down pickups that were parked in the school parking lot. No one ever said a thing. A half dozen years ago, I found a shell in the 6th grade boys’ restroom. Since this is Texas and it was hunting season, not an eyebrow was raised. Here, students still bring pictures of the deer and turkey they’ve shot. Sadly, this rite of passage is quickly being taken away.

14
posted on 11/09/2012 7:14:24 AM PST
by bgill
(We've passed the point of no return. Welcome to Al Amerika.)

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